How to create a costume that looks way more expensive than it is? Getting creative; that’s how! I live in a city with a lot of great historical bars and restaurants that used to be 1920’s speakeasies and illicit bars and gambling places. You can probably guess where the inspiration for this costume came from. I’m actually looking forward to rolling into these converted speakeasies in full Flapper attire on Halloween! It just makes sense right? I know Flapper and Gatsby outfits became super trendy when the newest remake of The Great Gatsby was debuted but this costume is seriously a classic and never gets old. I wanted to try creating the perfect 1920’s Flapper look and getting all 1920’s glamorous without spending beaucoup bucks. I also wanted the look to be somewhat traditional, but I’m not sure I quite succeeded there, but no matter. This dress came from Amazon, and I couldn’t pass it up. The dress was about $39, and it really has that glamorous Art Deco flair. Love the fringe, and the green and gold accents! It’s surprisingly heavy for a dress; probably due to all that sequins. I’m hoping to somehow get away with wearing it again! I personally like dresses that don’t require a lot of adjusting and this dress just goes on and you’re done and comfortable the rest of the night. No bra strap issues, no awkward fit problems, nada! Fits like a comfortable glove, and runs true to size. I believe it comes in several different colors too. Oh, and one of the most important details that adds an extra bit of glamour to the costume is the faux fur shawl! I found this one on Amazon for about $30, and since it’s getting colder I know I’m going to be relieved to have this on Halloween night.
Accessories are everything for a Flapper costume, and I found mine at a local costume and thrift shop for about $6 total. The feather headpiece, the gloves, the pearls and the cigarette holder really pull the costume together with those extra details! The most difficult thing, really, was my hair which is way too long for the period. And nope, I wasn’t willing to chop it all off for one costume. So, what to do? I’m not very talented in the hair department so I went with a simple bun fixed up with pins, and it stayed together very well, and it looks passable for the period. Ideally, you should have a bob cut but oh well. There are plenty of tutorials online for a fancier 1920’s style up-do if you’re better at that than I am. The final touch were the shoes, and I didn’t want to go with the more modern idea of the Flapper Costume: the T-strap. Apparently T-straps weren’t really the thing back then, so I went with a heeled leather oxford. I also like that these shoes can be worn with a modern outfit, but has just enough retro vibes for a costume. You can find tons of great retro shoes from thrift stores and I found these, practically new, Franco Sartos at the local thrift store. I plan on wearing these shoes with other everyday outfits so it was a win-win! Here’s the expense break down for this costume:
Expense Breakdown:
-Dress: $39.99
-Faux Fur Shawl $28.66
-Shoes: $19.99
-Headpiece: $4.49
-Accessories (gloves, beads, cigarette holder): $6
Total: $99.13
Outfit Set:
Outfit Details: Dress: Amazon, Shawl: Amazon, Shoes: Franco Sarto (thrifted), Accessories: Costume Shop, Tights: Target (old), Headpiece: eBay
